St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-12-10
CopYriQAted, 1871

we'll uI1NCT W IIc ftS VIC NClC A
ing to the city one evening last summer. III
was in 1859 that old Flora Temple astonished
the trottng world by beating 2:20, and the
lowest record now was made by Maud >. ID
1885"
Eyes" I replied, lit has been slow, but at
the same time it has been steady. Should
the old rule hold good 1t will be broken next
season, for two years have now elapsed since
old Time was beaten out at the wire
at seems scarcely yesterday" unused the
old turfman, "since l was startled at the
record made by tie old 'bob-tail,' and had
expected that she would have been able to
trot that fast, would have been on the quar-
ter-stretch at Kalamazoo. 1t was the only
great race that | ever missed, and | have
always regretted it. OF course, the war put
a stop to all such sport, but it was soon
brought to the front after that, and then all
eyes were centred on the white
faced Dexter who was then regarded as
a wonder. He Clipped a notch from
the old mares record, and was thought to be
the fastest animal alive, and he was too,
then, but even with his speed at this time be
would be badly left have always thought
that his race against Ethan Allen and rum
ming mate was what settled Dexter. as he
was never the same horse after that. Dex-
ter had to yield the supremacy to the erratfe
Goldsmith Maid, who fought many hot
battle with Lady Thorne, Lucy and Amer
can Girl. She was the queen for long time,
but she, like Dexter, passed away and others
came forward"
"Do you remember the Maids race with
Smuggler?' | asked.
Indeed l do" was his answer, land it
was horse race for a while. 1t was Marvin
and Doble but Marvin had the best horse
that day, and won it. I remember race at
Old Point Breeze in $50, when the Maid,
all out for the stuff. The Maid was then
considered the best of the quartet, and was
big favorite, she being backed by all the
Philadelphia party, but it was no use, for
old Thorne, with her one good eye,
won it. The Maid was decidedly ''ots,"
but Doble thought she would settle and
trot fast, but he was wrong, for she was
rank all through, only showing her speed
in scoring and in spots. The big machine
like stride Of Lady Thorne was powerful
that day. and | thought she would have
lowered her record had she been driven out
but she was pulled up in the stretch and
logged under the wire in, think, 2:l83."
How fast do you think Thorne could
have trotted that third heat?" l asked, for I
wanted to- see how judged speed at that date.
well" he replied, had the old man
driven her the entire mile, | think she would
have finished the mile in 2:l64, or little
better.
THE next star was the slim-eared Rarus,
who, guided by Jack Splan, made the ne2s
stir. Splan had bonanza in the horse, and
made money and reputation at the same
time. 1t was while Splan was driving Rarus
that Michigan girl said hey was in the same
boat with the swan both being ugly as mud
on the ground, the swan a beauty on
the water, and Splan an angel in the sulky.
About this time St. Julian was creating~a
Juror on the California coast, and soon Or
rim Hicock brought him East where he
took the rank of King Of the Turf His
race with Jay-Eye-See ended his career IN
this section, and he is now out in his West
ern home enjoying quiet life.
This brings US down to the present leaders,
Maud S. and Jay-Eye-See, who are still the
queen and king respectively. There is ne
question but that the gallant daughter Of
Harold has the most speed, but the result OF
race between these two has always been
matter of doubt with me. | know that
Maud S. is one of the gamest trotters
that ever looked through a bride, but
how fast she could trot when taking her
chances with another horse in a race | do
not know. The black gelding would make
her get up and hustleif he was all right, but
his feet, [ hear, are getting bad again, and u
this is the case, then Jay-Eye-Sees trotting
days are over, and Ned Bithers will have to
hunt up good one among the Dictator colts
if he wants to ride in the front rank again."
Speaking of Bithers," said. "he had
great picnic with Jay-Eye-see and Phallas,
not to mention Gurgle."
Yes replied the old gentleman, NED
was at thetop ofthe heap for some time, AND
really pit;ed him at the Wilkes-Phallas race
at Philadelphia. You know how confident
he was the morning of the race, for heard
him tell you and Dempsey that it would be
the softest kind of snap to out-trot the
fastest son of George Wilkes. / was badly
disappointed when the first heat was trotted,
loss of the second heat settled the m after
and was glad to "hedge'' my purchases.
think that if the truth is known Harry
Wilkes is the 'bread-winner' of the turf.
and that he has landed more hard cash into
the pockets of his owners than any other
horse in the same number of races"
'By the BY" the old turfman went on, IT
have often wondered whether all Flora
Temples speed was really ever gotten out Of
her. The Kalamazoo track, where, in 1859,
she beat the 2:20 record, was new one that
had been finished only about the 1st of Sep
TENDER. 1t was scarcely settled, but was
level and fairly smooth. A slight rain had
laid the dust. and drag had been sent
around the track once, making what would
now be but an ordinary fair track. Just BE-
fore the race l went down to see the mare.
When she was led out of her box and her
blanket taken off she was a picture. She
was rather small long-bodied mare with
a small head and ears and a bob-tail. She
wore heavy iron shoes on all her feet, and
the toes and heel-calks were plainly to be
seen; her harness was heavy; the side
check sand not buck being used, while
the nartingale was missing. She was
hooked to a red sulky, then regarded as 3
model, for it only weighed sxty-elght
pounds and when her driver, who weighed
165 pounds, was seated, she was ready for the
great event. In her jog she moved with q
quick, nervous stride that little indicated
her great speed. When she wheeled and
came down for the word, she was moving
with steady pace, and the game mare be-
gan her great race against old Father Time
under very favorable auspices. In those DAYS
the quarters and halves were not taken, the
mile being the main point, but it was to be
plainly seen that she trotted the second quar-
ter at faster rate of speed than she did
the first, while the first half of the third
quarter eclipsed them all. 1t was I'D in
the turn that | noticed that the mare was
being eased, and it was thought that some
thing was wrong. Still, even at the dimin-
shed speed, she was trotting faster than I
had ever seen horse go before, and she 50
finished the mile. Had she been driven out
she would have beaten PIG, but as it was siTs
had beaten go